Canvas Fully Floating Jacket

Fused or Canvas

Fully floating canvas

The point that started the discussion on quality came from explaining what is commonly referred to as the pinch test to see if a jacket is canvassed or fused. The test is to see if the coat has a lining that has been glued (or fused) to the inside of the jacket or if it is a structure in it’s own right (canvassed). I know I said in the opening statement that there is no single thing that makes a suit a quality garment, but having a fully floating canvassed jacket is probably the strongest indicator of quality there is. OK so what does all that actually mean and what is this pinch test?

Traditionally, suits are constructed by creating an inner frame work made from horse hair or a combination of wool/mohair called a canvas, the outer fabric is then attached to it by hand stitiching. The canvas was there to provide structure to the coat, and so is made from a much stiffer fabric. Over time the stiffer canvas moulds to your shape providing a perfect fit, this allows the exterior panels to hang naturally. This method is labour intensive and not suited to mass produced, high volume sales suits. All this ads up to a great indicator of a quality suit.